"60 Minutes" Unemployment Report:: Long Term Joblessness A Major Hurdle For Americas Labor Force

As the general election ramps up (promising a struggle over the future of the social safety net), millions of Americans remain out of work. The unemployment rate has hovered around 8 percent throughout 2012, and a 5.2 million people have been out of work for more than 27 weeks.

The financial burden of long-term joblessness can be crippling, especially for those who've exhausted their 99 weeks of federally guaranteed unemployment insurance. And, for many, prospects look bleak for the foreseeable future, as many employers have no interest in applicants--even those with college educations and years of experience--if they have gaps in their resume.

It was against this backdrop that "60 Minutes" and Scott Pelley took a look Sunday evening at the millions of long-term unemployed Americans struggling to find their way back into the labor force.